This month's Iconic Image is...
The Soldier in the Surf
Intro
This photograph was taken on June 6, 1944, by the photographer, Robert Capa. It depicts a young American soldier struggling in the surf while attempting to wade ashore. In the background, there are pieces of wreckage, land obstacles, and bodies floating in the water. The soldier is struggling to find his footing and evade enemy fire while he carries hundreds of pounds of equipment. This image would come symbolize the struggle and courage of American servicemen during the last great invasion of the last great war.
Part I
In June of 1944, the Western Allies were about to launch the greatest sea-born operation in world history. A total of 300,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers were poised to land at five beaches in the Normandy region of France. These beaches were code-named Gold, Juno, Sword, Omaha, and Utah. The Germans had been deceived by false intelligence that the main Allied attack force would be coming at the port-city of Calais (which was the closest point between France and Great Britain) and had moved the bulk of their forces there. They had only left 50,000 soldiers in the whole Normandy region (and an even smaller number guarding the beaches).
The divisions that would assault the beaches were divided among the Allies. The American 4th and 90th Infantry Divisions would attack Utah Beach. The American 1st and 29th would be assaulting Omaha Beach. The British 50th Infantry would assault Gold Beach. The Canadian 3rd Infantry would attack Juno Beach. And finally, the British 3rd Infantry Division would attack Sword Beach. In addition a small battalion of American Army Rangers would land and scale a 110 foot cliff called, Pointe du Hoc and capture the heavy artillery stationed there.
Spearheading the attack were thousands of American and British paratroopers. Soldiers from the American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions would land a couple miles beyond Omaha and Utah beaches and seize the causeways connecting them inland. They were also ordered to take control and hold bridges that spanned the Merderet and Douvet Rivers. The British 6th Airborne Division was tasked with landing around the French city of Caen and seizing bridges that spanned the Caen Channel and the Orne River. All of this would occur on the morning of June 6, 1944. If all went according to plan, the Allies would gain a secure foothold in Western Europe.
Part II
Most of the beaches were captured within a couple hours and with relatively light casualties. The exception however, was Omaha Beach. Stretching six miles between the small fishing port of Port-en-Bessin and the mouth of the Vire River, Omaha was the largest of the five beaches. It was backed by a seawall that was 10 feet high and surrounded by 30 meter high cliffs that overlooked the beach. And the distance from the shoreline to the seawall was more than 200 yards.
In addition to its natural barriers, Omaha Beach was defended by 7,800 infantry from the German 716th and 352nd Infantry Divisions and elements of the Ostlegionen (Eastern Legion). The defenses included: 8 artillery bunkers, 35 pillboxes, 6 tank turrets, 4 artillery pieces, 18 anti-tank guns, 45 rocket launcher sites, 6 mortar pits, and 85 machine gun nests. The beach was also lined with anti-tank obstacles (nicknamed: Czech hedgehogs) that were meant to slow down and impede enemy advance. These defenses had been strategically placed to inflict a devastating enfilading fire on any attacker.
When the assault on Omaha Beach began, multiple things went wrong. American tanks were supposed to spearhead the attack. However, as the tanks left their Higgins boats, nearly all of them were swamped by waves in the surf. They had only been designed to handle waves that were up to a foot high. But on D-day, the waves were over six feet high. Of the first 29 tanks that were launched, 27 sank and only 2 made ashore. The two tanks that made it ashore either became stuck in the sand or were knocked out by German artillery. Nearly all of the American infantry in the first wave landed at the wrong points on the beach. And within seconds of disembarking from the landing craft, nearly all of them were either killed or wounded. Those who came in the second and third waves were forced to dive over the sides and into the surf, where many of them drowned.
Part III
Among those to come ashore, were a handful of journalists and photographers. One of them was, Robert Capa. Capa had had previous experience taking combat photos in the Spanish Civil War. When Operation Overlord was scheduled, he was one of only eighteen photographers who were given credentials to cover the invasion. And one of only four that were given permission to land on the beaches with American soldiers.
On June 6, Robert Capa landed nearly 100 yards from Omaha Beach in the first wave of the invasion. He was forced to wade through waist-deep water while carrying three cameras and dodging enemy fire. For the next 90 minutes, Capa dodged enemy fire while taking pictures of American soldiers who were struggling ashore and secure the beachhead. During the attack, he noticed one soldier get hit by gunfire and fall down in the surf. After taking a quick picture, Capa and another man immediately ran over to the wounded soldier and helped him to his feet. Capa then moved him behind a hedgehog to shield him from enemy fire. He then pulled his cameras back out and continued to take photographs.
Most researchers and historians believe that the soldier in the surf was Private First Class Huston Riley of the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One).
Like Capa, Riley had also come ashore in the first attack wave. When his LCVP hit a sandbar, the boatswain lowered the ramp and the soldiers all stumbled into the surf. Riley remembered stepping directly into a deep runnel just beyond the sandbar and sinking into water over his head. In danger of drowning, Riley then activated two life-belt preservers around his waist which bobbed him up to the surface. Unfortunately this made him an easy target for the Germans that were firing from the shore. He was forced to strip off the life preservers and hold them in-front of his chest to make himself a smaller target without being weighed down by his weapons and ammunition.
As he waded shore, Riley was hit by two bullets which lodged in his back. Just when he thought he was about to be killed, Riley saw two men (another soldier and a man with a camera around his neck) run towards him and pulled him from the water. He then remembered being placed behind a Czech hedgehog and saw the man with the camera continue to take photographs. Due to his testimony being inline with Robert Capa's, it is very likely that the soldier in the photograph is indeed Huston Riley.
Epilogue
Despite suffering more than 3,000 casualties and many setbacks in the assault on Omaha Beach, the American soldiers were able to break through the German defenses. In what was little more than raw courage and valor, small groups of soldiers were able to fight their way through gaps in the fortifications. They then killed or captured nearly all the defenders around the beach and finally established a foothold. These were quickly exploited and weaker defenses around the beach were easily overwhelmed. The Invasion of Normandy would last more than two months. It finally ended on August 30, after the Allies liberated Paris from Nazi occupation.
Although Capa claimed to have taken a total of 106 photographs of the assault of Omaha Beach, a processing accident at the Life magazine photo lab in London destroyed all but 11 of them. The eleven surviving photographs were dubbed, "the Magnificent Eleven" by Life magazine. Robert Capa continued to take photographs for the rest of World War II. On May 25, 1954, he was killed after stepping on a landmine in Vietnam while documenting the First Indochina War. In 1976, he was posthumously inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.
Despite being shot four times at Omaha Beach, Huston Riley survived the attack (two bullets remained lodged in his body for the rest of his life). He later saw combat at the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded three Purple Hearts during World War II. After the war, he seldom spoke of his combat experience and never sought recognition for being the soldier in the surf. He died on October 2, 2011.
Today, the image of the soldier in the surf is one of the most famous photographs of American soldiers during World War II. It is arguably the most iconic of all images of American servicemen in combat. The photograph (along with the other 10) went on to inspire Steven Spielberg to make his Oscar winning movie, Saving Private Ryan. Like the flag-raising on Iwo Jima (which occurred less than a year later), the Soldier in the Surf depicts the struggle and eventual victory of American servicemen in World War II. It truly does deserve a special place in the history of photography.
https://time.com/120751/robert-capa-dday-photos/
https://www.mi-reporter.com/news/the-soldier-in-the-surf/
https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-who-is-the-face-in-the-surf-in-robert-capas-photo-from-bloody-omaha/
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1960/11/first-wave-at-omaha-beach/303365/
